Legal Assistant

Summary Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities. Responsibilities Serves as a Legal Assistant with primary responsibility to include analysis of, response to, and monitoring of requests submitted under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, Administrative Remedy Appeals, and claims submitted under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Civilian Employee Compensation and Bureau of Prisons Claims Acts (FTCA/CECA/BOPCA), and inmate property claims. Receives service of legal documents, reviews for correct form and timeliness; annotates case files and suspense files to reflect due dates and notifies appropriate legal staff to ensure timely responses are made. Performs a variety of administrative support duties, such as assembling information for various reports, briefings, conferences, designing and organizing filing systems, planning and arranging the maintenance and preparation of information needed for inter- or intra-office reports, making travel arrangements for legal staff, and completing Time and Attendance reports. Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staffs correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship is Required. See Special Conditions of Employment Section. Selective Service Requirement: Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility: A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter), Most recent performance appraisal, and Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location. See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information. NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP or ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: Qualifications To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements: Education: GL-05: Successfully completed 4 years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable at the GL-05. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. GL-06: As a general rule, education is not creditable above GL-05 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. OR Experience: GL-05 and GL-06: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled. Some examples of this qualifying experience are: GL-05: Experience in receiving and processing legal forms and/or documents, including reviewing for proper completion and policy compliance, determining what actions are needed to process, and establishing and tracking suspense dates. Experience with legal terminology used legal forms/processes, including understanding and recognition of their significance. Experience reviewing and/or drafting responses to legal requests and correspondence, including proofreading for content, accuracy, policy compliance, typographical and grammatical errors, etc. GL-06: Experience in general and specialized legal language, forms and pleadings pertaining to litigation, suspense dates, and determining what actions are necessary. Experience independently compiling statistical tables, reports, and similar material for various staff and other government officials. Experience reviewing correspondence to identify issues presented and obtaining relevant information and/or documents in preparation of responses for signature. OR Combination of Education and Experience: GL-05 only: Have a combination of education and experience. This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application. Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Additional Information In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for original appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage. Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility. Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check. All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm. Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques", three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.